Pitching Struggles in Loss as Tri-City Loses Ground in the Playoff Hunt
September 1, 2023 - Frontier League (FL)
Tri-City ValleyCats News Release
TROIS-RIVIÈRES, QUÉBEC, CANADA - The Tri-City ValleyCats (53-40) could not maintain an early lead, and fell 8-7 to the Trois-Rivières Aigles (38-55) on Friday at Stade Quillorama. The ValleyCats magic number remains at three, but they now are tied with the Sussex County Miners for fourth place in the Frontier League East Division (where the Miners hold the tiebreaker), and are a half game behind the New York Boulders for the second wild card spot. The 'Cats need at least one loss from the Boulders and Miners to clinch a playoff berth.
Tri-City opened the scoring in the first. Cito Culver led off the game with a double against Nick Garcia. Tanner Smith laid down a sac bunt, and reached on a fielder's choice back to the pitcher as Culver went to third. Jakob Goldfarb followed suit with a three-run homer to provide the ValleyCats with a 3-0 lead.
Trois-Rivières stormed back in the bottom of the first. Nate Scantlin doubled off Angelo Baez. Tyler Wilber singled in a run, and went to second on the throw. Dalton Combs had an RBI single, and moved to second on the throw. Wilber advanced to third on a passed ball from Oscar Campos before Malik Williams plated him with a groundout. Baez surrendered a base hit to Brandon Dadson before plunking Ricardo Sanchez. Bryan Leef had an RBI hit by pitch, and the Aigles tied the game, 3-3.
Trois-Rivières took the lead in the second. Scantlin singled, and Wilber sent him to third with a single of his own. Combs hit into a 4-6-3 double play, and Scantlin scored, which provided the Aigles with a 4-3 advantage.
Tri-City came back in the third. Goldfarb was hit by a pitch, and went to second after Altherr flew out to right. Juan Kelly hit an RBI single over Wilber's head to knot the game at 4-4.
Scantlin walked in the fourth, and Wilber singled. Combs picked up a two-run double that took a wild hop over Goldfarb to pull Trois-Rivières ahead, 6-4.
The Aigles tacked on a run in the fifth. Austin Markmann walked, and Baez exited the game. Markmann went to second on a Chris Fernandez groundout, before Scantlin doubled in a run off Tyler Jeans to make it a 7-4 contest.
Trois-Rivières added an insurance run in the sixth. Dadson doubled, and moved to third on a wild pitch. Ricardo Sanchez then lifted a sac fly to put the Aigles on top, 8-4.
Tri-City rallied in the seventh. Jaxon Hallmark singled, and Robbie Merced brought in a run with a triple. Christian Scafildi entered, and issued a walk to Culver. Afterward, Smith lifted a sac fly, and Goldfarb was hit by a pitch for the third time on Friday. Altherr ripped an RBI single, and advanced to second on the throw to cut the deficit to 8-7. The 'Cats stranded both runners on after a strikeout from Kelly, and a groundout from Campos.
Tri-City had a chance to strike in the eighth. Hallmark worked a one-out walk against Logan Hofmann, and swiped second base. Hofmann then struck out Merced, and induced a groundout from Culver.
Tyler Cornett retired the side in order in the ninth for his fourth save of the season.
Garcia (6-5) earned the win. He threw six frames, giving up six runs on six hits, walking none, and striking out three.
Baez (5-8) received the loss. He pitched four innings, yielding seven runs on eight hits, walking three, and striking out four.
Tri-City continues its final regular season series with Trois-Rivières tomorrow, Saturday, September 2. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 PM.
FINAL | TROIS-RIVIÈRES 8 | TRI-CITY 7
W: Nick Garcia (6-5)
L: Angelo Baez (5-8)
S: Tyler Cornett (4)
Attendance: 1,934
Time of Game: 2:55
BOX SCORE
Season Twenty-FUN of ValleyCats baseball and entertainment continues tomorrow as Tri-City continues its three-game road trip against the Trois-Rivières Aigles. You can be a part of the excitement by logging on to tcvalleycats.com or by calling 518-629-CATS (2287).
Frontier League Stories from September 1, 2023
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